Liesl & Po

Lauren Oliver

Oct 2011 · Sold by Harper Collins

About this ebook

From New York Times bestselling author Lauren Oliver comes a luminous novel that glows with rare magic, ghostly wonders, and a true friendship that lights even the darkest of places. An E. B. White Read-Aloud Honor Book, it’s perfect for fans of the author’s other middle grade novels: The Spindlers and the Curiosity House series.

Liesl lives in a tiny attic bedroom, locked away by her cruel stepmother. Her only friends are the shadows and the mice—until one night a ghost named Po appears from the darkness.

That same evening, an alchemist's apprentice named Will makes an innocent mistake that has tremendous consequences for Liesl and Po, and it draws the three of them together on an extraordinary journey.

Ratings and reviews

I have always loved ghost stories. It never mattered if they were funny or scary. This was a great ghost story. This was one of those ghost stories that was full of evil people and ghosts who reach out and touch your heart. Liesl has recently lost her father. She misses him terribly. Her step-mother has kept her locked in the attic for months slowly starving her while her very own daughter has been forced to play the role of Liesl. Will was an orphan adopted by an alchemist to be his apprentice. The alchemist has no desire to teach him how to create magic. His desire is to use the boy to run errands. He too has little to eat, his clothes are too big for him and he has never heard a kind word. Will runs errands each night for the alchemist and takes a route that allows him to gaze at a young girl in an attic. He is worried because her light has not been on in her room for several days. He dreams of them becoming friends. He’s never had a friend. On this night he has to make a delivery of a box of magic to an important lady, then he must go to the grey mans” place to pick up some items for the alchemist. The grey man disposes of bodies. On this night he has sitting on his bench in a jewelry box the ashes of Liesl’s father. Will arrives and gives the grey man his list. The warmth from the fire lulls him to sleep. When he leaves he mistakenly picks up the wrong box. From here things get interesting. Liesl is suddenly visited by two ghosts, Po and Bundles. She becomes friends with them. In exchange for a picture Po agrees to go back to the other side to look for her father. He finds him and goes back to tell Liesl of his discovery and that his father just wants to go to the willow tree. This is where her mother is buried. This is where her father planned on being buried one day. Liesl decides she must find a way to escape the attic and take her father’s ashes to the willow tree. Because of the mix up Will, Liesl, Po and Bundles cross paths as they find themselves on the run from one kind hearted man and three evil beings. The author’s note at the end explains how the book came about. I could relate to her reasons. It is a story that will touch your heart in so many ways. The illustrations in this book are absolutely beautiful. This is a great book. I was excited when I receive an email advertising the opportunity to read this book free until January 31st. I had seen it listed on several blogs. The premise made it very appealing. I have had it on my list for quite some time. I can’t wait to purchase this for my students so they may enjoy such a wonderful book.

My 8 yr old daughter really enjoyed this book.

LOVING IT

About the author

Lauren Oliver is the cofounder of media and content development company Glasstown Entertainment, where she serves as the President of Production. She is also the New York Times bestselling author of the YA novels Replica, Vanishing Girls, Panic, and the Delirium trilogy: Delirium, Pandemonium, and Requiem, which have been translated into more than thirty languages. The film rights to both Replica and Lauren's bestselling first novel, Before I Fall, were acquired by Awesomeness Films. Before I Fall was adapted into a major motion picture starring Zoey Deutch. It debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in 2017, garnering a wide release from Open Road Films that year.Oliver is a 2012 E. B. White Read-Aloud Award nominee for her middle-grade novel Liesl & Po, as well as author of the middle-grade fantasy novel The Spindlers and The Curiosity House series, co-written with H.C. Chester. She has written one novel for adults, Rooms.Oliver co-founded Glasstown Entertainment with poet and author Lexa Hillyer. Since 2010, the company has developed and sold more than fifty-five novels for adults, young adults, and middle-grade readers. Some of its recent titles include the New York Times bestseller Everless, by Sara Holland; the critically acclaimed Bonfire, authored by the actress Krysten Ritter; and The Hunger by Alma Katsu, which received multiple starred reviews and was praised by Stephen King as “disturbing, hard to put down” and “not recommended…after dark.” Oliver is a narrative consultant for Illumination Entertainment and is writing features and TV shows for a number of production companies and studios.Oliver received an academic scholarship to the University of Chicago, where she was elected Phi Beta Kappa. She received a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from New York University.www.laurenoliverbooks.com.